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School District 41 Selected as Canadian National Reference Site by Scientific Learning

^{Published on 2010-12-01 10:55:32 - Market Wire}
 

OAKLAND, Calif.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--[ School District 41 ] of Burnaby, British Columbia has been selected by [ Scientific Learning ] (NASDAQ:SCIL) as a Canadian National Reference Site in recognition of the districta™s commitment to increasing student achievement in reading and its strong student results with the [ Fast ForWord® ] program. School District 41 joins a distinguished group of Canadian and U.S. districts that exemplify the outstanding use of Fast ForWord, a family of educational software products that accelerate learning by building memory, attention, processing, and sequencing in the areas of English language and reading.

"In addition to the RPI gains, wea™ve seen significant changes in studentsa™ behavior, focus and attention in the classroom"

After launching the Fast ForWord software at one school in 2007, School District 41 quickly expanded the program to 12 other schools to address the needs of struggling readers who were two years behind in reading and who were not responding to traditional interventions. In a 2010 study, results from Reading Progress Indicator (RPI), a computerized assessment designed to rapidly measure the impact of the Fast ForWord products, showed that School District 41 students in grades one through 12 achieved significant gains, with 66 percent of students improving their reading level an average of one year and four months after 12 to 16 weeks of software use.

aIn addition to the RPI gains, wea™ve seen significant changes in studentsa™ behavior, focus and attention in the classroom,a said Dave Eberwein, director of instruction for School District 41. aAs students experience more personal success in their reading and class work, therea™s a huge improvement in their feelings of self-worth. As a result, students gain confidence in their reading abilities. Some students have also shown fewer behavioral concerns after successfully completing Fast ForWord a" something that has been noticed by parents, teachers and administrators.a

Eberwein has seen positive changes at the individual level as well. aFor example, last year, a student in grade 10 was having enormous difficulties,a he explained. aShe was reading at a grade six level, and required a reader and scribe for provincial exams. We placed her on Fast ForWord 45 minutes a day, five days a week. By the end of the program, she had transformed from a girl who was frustrated and angry into someone who was feeling proud of herself. When she wrote her grade 11 exam in science, she refused a reader and scribe. She did the exam all by herself in the required time and scored a very positive mark. She turned a corner because we found the intervention that worked for her a" and it literally turned her life around. With the Fast ForWord program, wea™ve been able to re-engage students in the learning process and make them feel good about themselves, which ultimately is where we want all students to be for them to be able to achieve their potential.a

As a National Reference Site, the Burnaby School District will serve as a resource for Canadian school districts seeking advice on how to best use the Fast ForWord program to build [ brain fitness ] and increase studentsa™ reading proficiency. The district will also participate in research to help Scientific Learning enhance the effectiveness of its products and services.

aOnce you understand the neuroscience behind the Fast ForWord program, ita™s difficult to return to practices that arena™t as well-researched,a said Kevin Kaardal, assistant superintendent for School District 41. aWhen you invest your time, resources and personnel in a program, you want to be certain that ita™s effective and that ita™s going to have a positive impact on student learning. We know from our experiences with our own students, and from studies by independent researchers, that the Fast ForWord program works. Ita™s helping students learn to read who havena™t been successful at it before. Those studentsa™ lives are changed forever because they now can participate in the education process in ways they couldna™t before. That is the gift of learning and what can be better than that?a

About School District 41

School District 41 is located in Burnaby, at the geographical center of metropolitan Vancouver. The district operates 41 elementary schools, including seven community schools, and eight secondary schools. Served by more than 4,000 staff, the district enrolls almost 24,000 students in kindergarten through grade 12 and provides programs and services to more than 16,000 adult learners.

About Scientific Learning Corp.

We accelerate learning by applying proven research on how the brain learns. Scientific Learninga™s results are demonstrated in over 200 research studies and protected by over 55 patents. Learners can realize achievement gains of one to two years in as little as eight to 12 weeks and maintain an accelerated rate of learning even after the programs end.

Today, learners have used nearly 3 million Scientific Learning software products, which apply aBrain Fitnessa principles to the areas of English language and reading. We provide our offerings directly to parents, Ka"12 schools and learning centers, and in more than 40 countries around the world. For more information, visit [ www.scientificlearning.com ] or call toll-free 888-358-0212.